02 June, 2007

And the boys perform on Indian Idol

After my post on how to predict the next Indian Idol, I suppose it is incumbent on me to give my impressions of the first piano round for the boys (as I did for the girls here). That way, you can all come back to this post a few weeks later and laugh your guts out at how badly I got it wrong. Ho ho ho, you can go. So, so, so?

My first impression is that the standard of singing is a bit lower than the last two seasons. Also, there is no one quite as outstanding as NC Karunya was last season. But there were enough good singers to keep me watching, though one full performance is too little to go by. The next week should be fun.

The first parameter I had stated was likability: “The winner is likely to be not the best singer, but a good singer with a pleasing personality,” I had written. In that regard, Bhavin Dhanak and Meiyang Chang score. Bhavin’s got good stage presence, and he sang well—he seems a complete package. Chang, who is of Chinese origin, was excellent, and both his persona and his voice seem more mature than his fellow contestants. I wonder if there will be any bias against his Chinese origin and looks—if not, he should go at least as far as the last three.

Among the others, Parleen Singh Gill has the likability, but I’m not sure about his voice. Emon Chaterjee’s got a great voice, but may come across as just a kid. Suhit Gosain has the best stage presence and the most enthu, but his voice, alas, doesn’t seem up to it.

And the judges, well well well. As I pointed out in a comment here, Javed Akhtar could spout philosophy about a shoelace. You could collect all his aphorisms from this show and put it in a self-help book, and mothers would use it to put their children to sleep. When is Anu Malik coming back? Nice is nice, but I want nasty!